


when even the alien gets sick of your shenanigans

by Anonymous



Category: Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Endosoma, Gen, Protective vore, Soft Vore, Vore, nothing skeevy going on here alright, only tagged as mature for the characters swearing habits, safe vore, the giant shapeshifting alien just wants to protect his idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 12:35:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30122865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Benrey finally understands why Gordon is so damn stressed all the time.Unlike Gordon, he can actually do something about it. He'll protect these crazy bastards using any means necessary. Thank fuck he has shapeshifting.(story contains vore. if you read this, you know exactly what you're getting into)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 47
Collections: Anonymous





	when even the alien gets sick of your shenanigans

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CuddleCave](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuddleCave/gifts).



Benrey had come to a disturbing realization. The realization that, in his current position, he finally understood the suffering of one Gordon Freeman.

Because this was _stressful as shit._

He had, by some insane twist of fate, grown attached to a group of humans- or at least, human adjacent beings- and had bonded with them enough that their survival mattered to him. It mattered a lot, actually.

He wanted nothing more than to keep them safe.

So _why the fuck were they running away from him._

Upon entering Xen, Benrey had grown to his full size almost on reflex. Xen was a very dangerous place, after all. Not to him, no, but his tiny, squishy human(?) companions were vulnerable even to the smaller examples of Xen's fauna. And the beasties only got bigger the further they went. For example, the angry Gonarch whose nest they had just blindly stumbled into.

Honestly, they needed all the protection they could get, but it seemed some things had been lost in translation. And now the idiots he was trying so hard to protect were running away from him and _headfirst into danger_. They flat-out refused to listen to him when he was just trying to help!

He'd always thought it was funny when Gordon was the one scrambling after them as they carelessly waltzed towards traps or enemies, but now? Being on the receiving end of it? No wonder the little man was so shouty and angry all the time, this was frustrating as all _fuck_.

He needed some way to keep them all close and safe while /he/ dealt with the source of the issue. He couldn't convince them to turn back, he'd never get them to stay put on one of the safer islands. He had one option left, but he knew they wouldn't like it, no matter how nicely he asked. But he couldn't just chase after them, they were scared enough as it was. Sooner or later, it wouldn't matter, they were running out of time-

A frantic cry caught his attention.

His head snapped in the direction of the sound just in time to see Gordon take a hit, the Gonarch's sharp leg landing a devastating blow to the chest plate of the HEV suit. The armor spared him from being fully impaled, but the impact was enough that it sent the injured human tumbling off the edge of the island and into the unforgiving void.

Benrey's eyes locked on to the plummeting figure, the distant shouts from the rest of the Science Team ringing in his ears. Without so much as a thought, he dove, hands outstretched. He caught Gordon with ease, curling his fingers gently beneath the man as he examined the damage. The dented plating, bent inwards from the force of the impact, the warped metal practically crushing the wearer's chest, Gordon's wheezing breaths as he struggled to get air into lungs that couldn't fully expand behind the massive dent. For a moment, Benrey couldn't think past his rage.

He shot up to the edge of the island, eyes hunting. The Gonarch that had landed that near-fatal strike had turned away as soon as Gordon was out of it's reach, and now it was chasing Tommy. With two hands still cradling the unmoving human, Benrey easily grew another pair of arms, reaching down.

The Gonarch was crushed without a second thought.

The fighting halted, smaller aliens fleeing in panic. The Science Team shifted their focus to Benrey as he in turn focused on Gordon.

Humans were fragile, he knew. He'd learned that the hard way after Gordon lost his hand. _Humans can't regenerate. Or respawn._

He shifted his grip on the barely conscious figure, mindful of the damage. They were completely out of options now, there was no way Gordon would make it through Xen like this, much less survive the final boss. He needed healing, he needed time to rest and recover.

Benrey made up his mind. He flexed his fingers, nails sharpening into wicked claws. He gurgled low in his throat as he readied a small burst of teal-green. He twisted his claws, deftly catching in the gaps of the HEV suit and cracking them apart. He worked swiftly, but carefully enough that he didn't cause further harm to the human inside.

Some of his tension eased as he removed the chest plate, and Gordon finally managed to draw a full breath. As much as that desperate gasp tugged at his heart, it was a reassuring sign that Gordon could still breathe at all. If he'd suffered much internal damage, Benrey might not be able to help him. But for the moment, he could. The giant alien opened his mouth and sang a brief trail of healing teal-green. The glowing lights burst upon contact, phasing through the dark cloth of the undersuit and seeping directly into the injury to start healing. Gordon's breathing evened out, eyes fluttering as he tried to stay awake. He looked so vulnerable, all dazed and confused. Benrey felt a low rumble in his chest, driven by the urge to protect, hold him close, keep him safe, tucked away and out of harms reach.

He knew the others were still watching, but that meant nothing. It would be better to get Gordon down while the man was still out of it, he might hurt himself if he tried to put up a fight. With the last of the armor removed, he spit a small glob of cocoon fluid to cover the gun arm. He couldn't take that away without hurting Gordon, but neither could he have the little man shooting up his insides. Hopefully he would calm down by the time it wore off.

With all of that done, he lifted Gordon up to his face. He saw the rising panic in those unfocused eyes, and he did his best to look and sound reassuring.

**Cmon, it's okay. You're okay, I've got you. M just gonna put you somewhere safe, you can't go running around like that. Just hold still and let me take care of you.**

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, as Gordon struggled weakly in his grasp. He didn't want to scare the guy! He was trying to help!

He gave a snort of frustration and decided 'fuck it.' Gordon was smart for a human. He'd figure it out. He leaned back, opened his mouth a bit further, and dropped Gordon inside.

In an instant, all of his attention was drawn to the human, so fragile on his tongue. Without that bulky suit of armor, he felt as if that little body would be crushed with one wrong move. He carefully pinned the squirming form in place, checking for further injury. Most of the limbs seemed intact, and the one that wasn't had come from before Xen.

Benrey hummed in satisfaction. If there was no other damage to worry about, then he could safely go on to the next step. He tilted his head back, curling his tongue as the motion opened up his throat, gravity and suction pulling Gordon's shivering form further in. After a few internal tweaks with shapeshifting, it was safe to proceed.

He gave a single, powerful gulp, lifting a hand to trace the path as Gordon slipped down, shielded beneath layers of flesh and muscle. The little lump he made vanished within Benrey's chest, but he could still feel that solid shape, his hands coming to rest over it's destination. He sighed in relief as the little human was deposited safely within, coming to rest in the shallow pool of SweetVoice he'd prepared before. A moment of focus, and the liquid shifted teal-green, granting healing to his weary occupant.

**There. Was that so bad?**

With Gordon now safe and sound, Benrey was reminded of something. He looked back towards the island, zeroing in on the three remaining members of the Science Team. Given their horrified expressions, they had already drawn their own conclusions, incorrect as they may be.

There was no time to explain himself. He had already been too late to spare Gordon from further harm. He wasn't about to make that same mistake.

The massive alien hauled himself up over the edge of the island, locked onto his first target, and _lunged_.

\----

Gordon couldn't think. He couldn't focus. What had happened? He remembered...

The Gonarch's attack had sent him over the edge. He'd been falling, out of reach, not even Coomer's Extendo-Arms could catch him. But something else had. Some _one_ else...

He couldn't _breathe_. He struggled for air, but he just couldn't. The damage to the suit had turned it from "protective armor" to "death trap," the dented metal crushed his chest to the point of suffocation.

The shapes supporting him moved. Something was happening, just outside his awareness. He felt an odd sort of pressure along his sides. The strange force increased, and he felt a sudden * _pop_ *.

The dented chest plate was abruptly yanked free, and he drew in a frantic gasp, finally able to fill his lungs. Each heaving breath tore through his throat, the return of oxygen clearing the haze from his mind. He blinked rapidly, trying to force his vision to return... And he found himself face to face with Benrey.

His blood ran cold at the sight before him. Benrey was simply _gargantuan_. At this closer vantage point, his more alien traits were easy to see. The odd blue-green light swirling in his eyes, those rows of jagged teeth as his _mouth opened further, oh shit-_

Gordon flinched, expecting a bite, but the ringing note of SweetVoice caught him off guard. The familiar sensation of a glowing orb poppping and splashing him surprisingly put him at ease, the pain in his chest fading. He blinked in confusion, barely registering that the rest of the hazard suit was being pried loose by careful claws. What color had he used, the calming blue? It had to have been...

A deep rumbling distracted him from his thoughts. Benrey was speaking, but he only caught the last words.

**-just hold still and let me take care of you.**

What?!

Whatever Benrey meant, it couldn't be good. Desperate to escape, Gordon wriggled furiously, trying to get free. Benrey frowned at his reaction, the pulled him closer, those massive jaws opening wide.

_He wouldn't... He wasn't actually going to..._

Gordon couldn't even find the strength to cry out as he was dropped past those wicked teeth. He found himself sprawled helplessly across the giant alien's tongue, the slick muscle arching beneath him and pinning him effortlessly to the roof of the mouth. His mind was racing, it felt like everything was moving too fast and too slow all at once. His surroundings tilted, the tongue curling over him as it began to push him down.

A single gulp, and Gordon was swallowed whole.

 _This isn't real, this can't be happening_. Even as he hoped and prayed, he knew there was no denying it. The rippling waves of muscle carried him along, and he sank deeper and deeper into the alien’s core. He was barely conscious, exhaustion catching up, the pain of his injuries growing more prominent. The intense pressure and repetitive motions was not helping at all.

He was still sinking further down, his mind going fuzzy. Maybe he would pass out from lack of oxygen first. Better that than digestion. He couldn't bear the thought of such a horrifying fate.

His movement seemed to halt, the pressure increased. He squirmed weakly in discomfort. Everything around him grew tighter, and then-

He let out a strangled gasp as he was forced through an opening into what he could only assume was the stomach. Released from the tight grip of the esophagus, he tumbled unceremoniously into the puddle of liquid gathered in the bottom. The splash left him coated almost immediately, and he cried out in reflex, bracing himself for the burn of acid. He tried to activate his gun arm, to do some damage, but it stuttered weakly. He opened his eyes, finally looking about his prison, before glancing down at the weapon. Not only was he too weak to activate it fully, the strange slime seemed to have clumped up on the mechanisms, effectively jamming it...

He slumped back into the glowing fluid, despair creeping in. This was it. No way out, trapped, doomed to be fuel for an eldritch nightmare. He took a shaky breath, wrinkling his nose against the stench of bile, sharp and fruity-

Hold on.

FRUITY?

His eyes snap open, shock chasing away the exhaustion for a moment. The chamber was bathed in swirling light, ever-changing colors that drifted up from the liquid he was partially submerged in.

"Is that... SweetVoice?" His words were barely above a whisper, confusion and disbelief clear in his tone. He tried to sit up, wincing as his injuries protested vehemently.

As if responding to his pain, the psychedelic colors seemed to shift in motion, swirling centered on him. The hypnotic hues began to blend and blur-

And the chamber was abruptly lit by familiar colors.

_Teal-green. Healing Beam_

Glowing orbs floated up from the puddle, orbiting around Gordon before popping against him. The mixed colors absolutely soaked him, dripping from his hair and down the undersuit. It seeped into every open wound, and he felt the pain slowly ease.

Gordon was struck speechless. Benrey had healed him? But why? He'd been so quick to give in, to flaunt his power and chase after them, why would he bother-

His train of thought was abruptly derailed as everything around him went sideways, leaving him to swear in shock as he was thrown against a fleshy wall by momentum.

The movement came to a stop, and Gordon tumbled again to the new 'floor,' previously one of the walls. The liquid splashed over him again, but despite the fresh wave of healing it brought, it didn't really make him feel better about just being thrown like that.

Any complaints he might have voiced were forgotten as a very unexpected sound rumbled around him. Was Benrey talking? Shit, he wasn't paying attention, what did he say.

_ **Sorry bro. It's for your own good.** He sounded almost regretful.

Before Gordon could puzzle out what he meant, the sound of a swallow echoed through the massive body.

_Oh. He caught someone else_

The area around him moved again, presumably as Benrey stood upright to help the swallow. Gordon scrambled to right himself, then looked up, trying to spot the way he'd come in. He strained to listen, and through the ambient sounds of Benrey's body, he could pick out muffled shouting. It sounded an awful lot like...

"TOMMY!" Gordon shouted, struggling upright and bracing his hand against a wall, trying to ignore the way the flesh twitched at the contact. A startled yelp announced the new arrival, and Gordon fell into the SweetVoice once again as the full weight of another person landed on top of him. He let out a groan that was more exasperation than pain. "Nice to see you..."

Tommy froze for just a moment, then flailed frantically in an effort to turn over. "GORDON! YOU'RE ALIVE?!"

Gordon gave a breathless laugh, trying once again to sit up, only to be yanked into a bone-crushing hug as Tommy finally oriented himself and latched on, practically crying with relief.

"You're okay! We saw you get hit, and then Benrey picked you up- you weren't moving. We thought you were dead..."

Expression going soft, Gordon hugged back as tightly as he could. "Yeah, I thought I was done for when he cracked off my suit, but... He hasn't hurt me. At all. It was a bit of a rough trip down, but he _healed_ me. Look at this!" He peeled back the torn layer of the undersuit and gestured at his wounds, which were visibly regenerating beneath a layer of Teal-Green SweetVoice residue. Tommy's eyes lit up, bewilderment fading into hope.

"If that's- maybe that's what he meant! He's trying to protect us!"

Gordon's smile faded a bit. Honestly? He wanted to believe that Benrey was on their side, that this was some wild method of protection, but he couldn't simply dismiss his wariness. Too much had gone wrong, and the terrifying reveal of the full extent of Benrey's inhuman nature had him questioning every interaction they'd had since he'd shown up that day. And the way he and Tommy had been gulped down so easily... He shuddered at the memory of that inescapable, crushing force pushing him down...

“I’m not so sure... this is Benrey we’re talking about, he’s not straightforward about anything.”

Tommy’s expression faltered, but before he could speak his mind, the chamber around them shifted and sent them sprawling once again. This time, however, a powerful rumbling echoed around them

 **Rude much? I followed you reckless idiots through Xen to keep you from gettin got, and this is how you say thank you? I’m so disappointed.** the deadpan voice betrayed no emotion. **Just sit tight for a bit. Once I get the others, we’ll talk. I’m not explaining this three times over.**

“Sit tight? _Sit tight?_ We’re literally inside of you, where the fuck would we _go_ -” another drastic shift cut Gordon off as he flailed in panic and accidentally rolled into Tommy.

**I’m not talking to you now, rude- uh, baby Rudeman. Gotta catch, fffff, fightin old man. Punching Peepaw.**

Gordon actually snorted at that, surprising even himself.

“Going after Coomer next? Dr. Harold ‘the Hellion’ Coomer? Reigning champion of the Underground Boxing Ring? Good fucking luck, dude.”

**I got him, he’s right there-** _**agh** _ **fuck- bro,** _**bro chill** _ **. I’M TRYING TO HELP-**

In spite of the completely bizarre and potentially dangerous situation, Gordon found himself laughing outright as Benrey complained at his current target. Tommy leaned over him, a little concerned by his near delirious giggles. A frustrated growl from their ‘host’ caused him to laugh harder. Oh, sue him. He was so used to the team turning their shenanigans against him, hearing them go against each other was /hysterical/. He was distracted from his reverie by a triumphant **HA** that nearly deafened him. Looks like Coomer was caught then.

**Will you /hold still/, this is for your own good! if you don’t- OW. Alright, that’s it**

With those words, the liquid pooled in the bottom of the chamber swirled again, darkening to a deep blue. Glowing orbs of the same shade rose from the surface, floating upwards. A few stray balls popped against the two inside, flooding them with a sense of complete calm. The rest of the orbs floated up and phased through the “ceiling,” presumably to subdue a still-fighting Coomer. The echoes of a * _gulp_ * that followed implied that it was a success.

Gordon's laughter ceased, that brief hysteria muffled by the calming blue and then snuffed out by the sound if the swallow. He struggled against the lethargy, nudging Tommy up and out of the way. Not a moment too soon, either, as a third person was dropped into the chamber alongside them. The figure moved sluggishly.

"Ah. A rather underhanded tactic, don't you think? But not enough to keep me down!" Coomer's voice rose to a challenging yell as he made a faltering lunge at the wall. The impact of his punch was still enough that the area he struck shuddered and twisted.

 **Dude! Not cool!** the entire chamber seemed to twist and writhe, and then abruptly collapse inward, crushing the three occupants to the center of the stomach and thoroughly dousing then with calming blue SweetVoice. They all squirmed unhappily at the sudden movement, shouting in various states of outrage and confusion until the SweetVoice took effect, leaving them worn out.

"Yeah, I don't think a gut-punch works so well from the inside," Gordon groaned.

At the realization that he wasnt alone, Coomer froze, twisting his head to stare at then in disbelief. "Tommy? _Gordon_? You're both still here?"

"I mean, well-" "Yeah, kinda-"

They were both cut off as he wriggled around and managed to pull them into a hug.

"You two had me worried! Bubby and I feared the worst when Benrey decided to make a snack of you! Speaking of which, how exactly..?"

" ** _Teal-green_** " three voices spoke in tandem, Benrey's voice joining from outside and all around. Tommy and Gordon exchanged a glance, then looked to Coomer. "When I landed in here, I thought I'd been dumped in stomach acid, but it's apparently all SweetVoice. It started soaking into my wounds and healing them. It didn’t turn blue until _after_ he started chasing you though."

Coomer gave a wicked grin. "Indeed! He was unable to bring me down without that little cheat!"

“We heard a bit of it from in here. Sounds like you gave him hell.”

**Fucker cracked one of my teeth.**

“Yes! And I’d do it again!”

As they spoke, the pressure began to ease up, slowly releasing that tight grip and allowing them more movement. Tommy and Coomer both attempted to stand in the cramped space, but Gordon piped up from where he stayed curled up in the glowing pool.

"Yeah, might not want to do that. Gets a little messy when he moves."

The other two looked at him quizzically, but shifted to crouched positions. "How so?"

As soon as the words left Dr. Coomer, the world went sideways yet again, leaving all three flopped over each other in a tangled mess.

"Oh. He's chasing Bubby, isn’t he?" Dr. Coomer sounded less concerned than most would be about the prospect of a friend being hunted down and eaten.

Though, to be fair, they now had three counts first-hand experience that Benrey wasn't intent on hurting them.

Gordon let out a weary breath, pinned beneath the other two. His ribs still ached from the earlier damage, but the worst of it had been erased by the repeated dunking in healing slime.

"I'm sure Bubby will be fine. He can't outrun Benrey forever, so he'll probably be joining us soon. Then maybe we'll finally get an explanation for... All This." He gestured vaguely at their surroundings.

Coomer gave a an unconvinced hum. "Gordon, this is Benrey we're talking about. He's rarely straightforward about anything!"

"That's what I said!"

Tommy huffed in annoyance. "He already told us he would explain once we were all here! He hasn't lied to us yet!"

Gordon opened his mouth to object, then paused. Benrey had admitted right out the gate that he wasn't human. And off the top of his head, he couldn't really recall any times Benrey had lied.

Well, there were a few comments he'd used right before the ambush, but those had been so half-assed he didn't know if they counted.

His attention shifted to his missing hand. The barrel of the minigun replacement was still gummed up, but less so. If he really wanted, he could clear the rest and unload a vengeful hail of bullets into the alien's unprotected insides...

He winced at the thought, unsettled by his own imagination. He couldn't bring himself to go that far, not after Benrey had saved him. Three times, if you counted the actions separately. Once catching him from the fall, twice freeing him from the crushing damage of the hazard suit, and thrice by granting him healing for what had to have been broken ribs. That stabbing pain in his chest had scared him, given how far they were from any sort of medical treatment. He had assumed the cooling numbness had come from the calming blue, but it had to have been teal-green. The pain would have been unbearable when he was swallowed, otherwise.

Gordon realized he was still staring at his arm, eyes drawn to the ring of SweetVoice slime that had collected at the attachment point, soothing the inflammation caused by repeated use of Devil Gun Mode. He let the gun drop, and finally broke the silence.

"Alright. I'll give him the benefit of a doubt, this time."

He let gravity pull him to lay partially submerged in the pool, eyes closed, exhaustion in every line his body. He missed the concerned looks his companions traded as he did so. Tommy spoke up a moment later.

"Is your arm hurting again? You're holding it at a weird angle..."

"Huh?" Gordon blinked up at him. "Oh, not really. The teal-green actually helped a lot, it's just," he lifted the gun, waving it sluggishly, "this is a heavy chunk of very hard metal. It's a strain to hold up, and not exactly comfortable to lean on."

Coomer hummed thoughtfully, then quickly slipped off his lab coat. "I have an idea!" He lifted the metal limb, smiling slightly as Gordon made a small noise of surprise not unlike the 'cat-activation' sound, and he wrapped his lab coat around it as tightly as he could.

"There! That should cushion it for now. We can unwrap it and fashion into a sling later, so the weight of the metal doesn't rest entirely on your elbow."

Gordon felt his eyes start to water, unexpectedly moved by the gesture, but before he could express his gratitude, the fluid beneath them swirled with dark blue again. It seemed Benrey was done chasing Bubby. The glowing orbs lifted and phased out.

Coomer looked around, curious despite the wave of calm. Gordon and Tommy shifted to lean against the walls, knowing what was to come.

Sure enough, moments later, the final member of their team arrived with a startled cry.

"Bubby!" Coomer's voice was the first to greet him as the other man reached out to hug the new arrival.

Swearing in shock, Bubby twisted around to face him. "Dr. Coomer! You're still alive?"

"And not just I, my friend! Tommy and Gordon are both here, and very much still breathing!"

"Hi!" "Howdy."

Bubby paused, one finger up, mouth half open in bewilderment. He gathered his thoughts, pressing both palms together and holding them up in front of his face as he drew in a hissing breath. He then spoke.

"What the _FUCK_."

Gordon gave a weak laugh. "That about sums it up, yeah."

"Indeed!" Coomer responded with his usual enthusiasm.

 **Yah, sure. You reckless fuckers ready to listen now?** Benrey's irritated voice echoed around them.

"I don't know, are you ready to _actually talk_?" Gordon couldn't help but snark back.

The chamber around them abruptly shifted and churned, all of the Science Team thrown into a tangled heap as Benrey oriented himself into a more comfortable position for the conversation. The walls shrank in against them for a moment, as if checking to make sure they were all accounted for. The action was met with a few outraged cries and attempted shoves at their surroundings, mostly from Bubby and Gordon, although Coomer did deliver a hefty punch to announce his displeasure. Tommy simply sat patiently, awaiting the promised explanation. Eventually, the rest settled down, forced to lean on each other in the enclosed space. Gordon had been shifted to sprawl at the 'bottom' of the pile, once again half-submerged in the SweetVoice that had returned the familiar teal-green healing hues. His injuries had almost faded completely at this point, but Tommy was insistent. Every little bit helps.

 **You guys don't need to be so worried.** Benrey began. **I've got you, safe and sound, nothing can get you without going through ME.**

"Nothing can get us EXCEPT you, you mean." Gordon replied.

"Yeah, I'm not convinced." Bubby interjected. "What's to stop you getting bored of this and making a meal of us? You stole our weapons, or nullified them with your SweetVoice. We're defenseless in here."

**I had to keep you somewhere! You sucks dumbasses kept running into aliens! I tried to tell you not to come to Xen for a reason!**

Tommy piped up before Bubby or Gordon could go off.

"We couldn't just _not_ go to Xen. We have to- there's the source of the portals! We had to come here to shut it down, to stop the invasion back on earth!"

A frustrated growl echoed back.

**But it's not safe here! You guys got held up fighting** _**one** _ **Gonarch. What would you do if you went up against something even bigger? I** _**have** _ **to protect you.**

"Together, we can face whatever comes our way!" Coomer challenged.

##  **You couldn't even stop ME**

No one had a response for that. After a moment of depressing silence, Benrey sighed.

**Why can't you guys just trust me on this...**

"Okay."

It came as a surprise to all of them, even himself, that the word came from Gordon.

"This is... A lot to take in. I'm pretty sure the only reason I'm not having a breakdown is because I've grown numb to all the insanity over the course of this whole mess." Gordon sighed, scrubbing at his face with his remaining hand. Even talking felt like a drain at this point. "We're all still alive. And... relatively unharmed. I trust you when you say you want to protect us, even if some of your past actions were kinda questionable. The question now is... What now? Where do we go from here? There's still the portal source to take care of, and even if this is safe, you can't hold on to us forever."

**... Not forever, no. But long enough. I can handle the source. I know where it is, I can sense it from here. Just... Please stay put and let me handle the final boss?**

"Boss?" Coomer perked up. "The source is an alien overlord? Benrey, would you deny us the thrill of glorious combat?"

**Bro, please. You hit like a freight train, but even you would have trouble with this guy.**

"I could take him," Bubby spoke without a trace of doubt or hesitation. Gordon snorted at the idea, earning a glare from the 'perfect scientist.' "I could! Don't give me that you touch-starved whore."

Gordon _choked_. "What the _fuck did you just call me-_ "

"You heard me!"

"It is rather obvious, Gordon!"

"I always- I kinda figured that you would have issues being stuck in the HEV suit so long," Tommy remarked. "I didn't realize how bad it would be 'til now."

Gordon had no idea what they meant by it being obvious, but other than that they weren't wrong. "Well, you got me there. Honestly, at this point, if someone put a hand on my face I might just go catatonic."

He'd barely finished his sentence when Bubby did just that. It wasn't even an affectionate touch, just, *pap* contact. It was still enough to make him freeze up, eyes unfocused as he registered the touch. Bubby looked almost concerned.

"Damn, you weren't kidding."

That snapped Gordon out of his thoughts. Embarrassed, he started to turn away.

Only to get dragged into a hug by Tommy. He let out a startled laugh even as he felt tears gather in his eyes. Shaking, he returned the hug, slumping forward in the other's hold as he practically soaked in the contact.

"I was stuck in that stupid thing for so long. I couldn't feel anything, just that same weight and texture every hour of every day."

The weight of it dragging him down, the rigid metal restricting his range of motion, the constant barrier it provided not just to potential threats, but to _any_ sort of contact. The more he thought about it, the more he was almost hysterically relieved that it was finally _off_.

He felt more pressure as Coomer joined the hug, the added pressure helping to ground him. Days worth of tension and anxiety from the constant high-stress survival situation bled away little-by-little.

“I’m just. So _tired_...”

**Then rest.**

Benrey’s voice rumbled around them almost gently, the organic chamber contracting slightly around them in the alien’s own weird form of hug.

**Just focus on recovering, okay? I’ll take it from here.**

The grouped traded looks, coming to a silent agreement.

“Fine,” Bubby waved a hand. “Gordon should stay. The rest of us get to fight.”

**Uh huh, no. Not happening.**

Gordon laughed as Bubby immediately took offense and started trash-talking. His chuckles faded into an exhausted groan, and he leaned back, half against the soft wall and half against Tommy. The other just grinned at him.

“It’s okay, you can fall asleep on me.” Gordon huffed a little at being read so easily, but soon gave in to temptation and relaxed against him, going completely limp.

He drifted off not long after that, curled up and practically snuggled between Tommy and Coomer. At some point, Bubby had deigned to join the cuddle pile, even if he only really did so with Coomer as the two half-heartedly tried to convince Benrey to let them join the boss fight. There was the occasional rumble as Benrey's voice joined the argument. Even knowing that their 'host' was heading towards the boss fight as they spoke, Gordon felt relaxed and safe.

He trusted it would all work out in the end.

**Author's Note:**

> Bits I had to cut for lack of time or experience, or just for my peace of mind:  
> Benrey does in fact lay waste to the Nihilanth. He just adds some armor/padding and extra arms to protect his guts, and the people inside. They didn't appreciate that he had to squeeze them in place, but that was the better alternative to being tossed about like salad in a bowl.
> 
> And Benrey definitely lets them out once the boss is defeated. I cannot handle the concept of them trying to explain this wild situation to Gman, the secondhand embarrassment would kill me. Thankfully the SweetVoice residue just evaporates.  
> Once they get to the Chuck E Cheese, Gordon just passes out somewhere quiet. The man needs his rest, he's earned it.  
> (Also sorry if the characters are OOC, this is my first time writing them)


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